The Black, the Grey, the White and the Artist Who Decides the Palette

I recently spoke with a friend about ideas on how to connect socially progressive-leaning groups with the freedom groups. And the ever-present issue of C3 and C4 non-profit classifications. You see, non-profits cannot simply share and talk together, they are bound by so many laws and regulations that it requires a whole host of lawyers to keep one’s non-profit status.

This is why I want a for-profit charity because paying taxes seems preferable to being told what to do.

It’s my brand of Austrian autism.

A form of anarchism if you will.

If someone says it’s illegal, my practical libertarian kicks in and I want to find a way to say no without breaking things.

I believe a lot of things should be legal but I know that they are not. So the trick is to either not get caught or engage in some creative destruction that pushes so far forward that the Pogues haven’t had the time to figure out how to regulate it.

Similar to how online stores broke brick and mortar and creatively destroyed physical store business models and evaded state taxes for two decades.

We are trapped in a game of what is allowed, what is not allowed, and what has not be done yet.

The system cannot condone grey markets because a grey market is something unregulated. All markets must be either white or black, legal and regulated or outlawed and persecuted. The grey market affirms a sneaking suspicion that the regulations are not necessary for a vibrant and safe world. Such a “delusion” cannot be allowed to persist.

In truth, we need laws and customs but rarely do we need lawyers and customs officials. Having a rule does not require a ruler. Yet, a ruler that abides by the rules and does not make the rules is not an inherent violation of people and individuals. It is just that a king often becomes a tyrant and a ruler often winds up breaking the rules.